Along with higher integration and larger capacity of large scale integration circuits (LSI) in recent years, the circuit line width demanded for semiconductor devices has been becoming increasingly fine. The lithography technology is used to form a desired circuit pattern in a semiconductor device. In this lithography technology, pattern transfer is performed using a defined image pattern called a mask (reticle). The charged particle beam drawing apparatus having excellent resolution is used to manufacture highly accurate masks used for pattern transfer.
In a vacuum vessel, the charged particle beam drawing apparatus irradiates a predetermined position of a sample on a stage with a deflected charged particle beam and draws a pattern on the sample while moving the stage that supports the sample such as a mask or a blank. The charged particle beam drawing apparatus detects a stage position by means of a laser displacement measure provided on the lateral side of the vacuum vessel, and performs drawing control based on the detected stage position.
However, when a vacuum is created in the vacuum vessel by decompression, the vacuum vessel is slightly deformed due to the effect of the atmospheric pressure (pressure difference). In this situation, the laser displacement measure provided on the lateral side may incline due to the deformation of the lateral side of the vacuum vessel, and may fail in accurate measurement of the stage position. Thus, there is a need for avoiding reduction in the accuracy of the measurement of the stage position.